Bush is a crook.

Originally Posted by Article

Bruce Fein, a deputy attorney general in the Reagan administration, said the American system of government relies upon the leaders of each branch ''to exercise some self-restraint." But Bush has declared himself the sole judge of his own powers, he said, and then ruled for himself every time.

''This is an attempt by the president to have the final word on his own constitutional powers, which eliminates the checks and balances that keep the country a democracy," Fein said. ''There is no way for an independent judiciary to check his assertions of power, and Congress isn't doing it, either. So this is moving us toward an unlimited executive power."

Pretty much. I think in our age, when red tape is at its peak (I mean, we can really only get more laws, you know?) we'd expect a president to want to navigate it rather than circumvent it. The fact that Bush is not puts people on edge, because it reminds them how tenuous the idea of a democracy is.

It's more than simply a preconception the public has about what the president should do; it's also a window into his character. That he doesn't feel as if he has to answer to anyone is not a good sign, you know?

Jam it back in, in the dark.